Subject

Introduction to Biomedical Companies

  • code 13487
  • course 2
  • term Semester 1
  • type OB
  • credits 6

Matter: FROM RESEARCH TO THE PATIENT: TRANSFER AND INNOVATION

Main language of instruction: Spanish

Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English

Teaching staff

Head instructor

Dr. Luis Antonio RUIZ - lruiz@uic.es

Other instructors

Dra. Andrea Natalia RICCO - anricco@uic.es
Dr. Pedro Manuel GRIMA - pgrima@uic.es

Office hours

The doubts that the students may raise will be resolved before or after class in person, or through email by direct contact throughout the course.

Introduction

The course is aimed at giving students elements that are complementary to the scientific one that allows them to be informed and, where appropriate, make decisions regarding the development of a professional career in the field of creation and management of biomedical companies oriented to R + D. It is also proposed at an introductory level, since within the curriculum there will be core and optional subjects that will develop in depth some of the topics raised


Pre-course requirements

They are not necessary

Objectives

1. Give students the basis for understanding the complexities of developing and marketing a drug (including determining its price), beyond the scientific aspects associated with its mechanism of action in relation to the disease.

 

2. Present the biomedical company as a necessary instrument for the transformation of scientific knowledge into social economic value, in the form of services or products that improve the quality of life of patients.

 

3. Offer students an overview of the different types of biomedical companies and the professional profiles that can be integrated into them, with special emphasis on recent cases of companies created in our environment and originated in university research.


Competences / Learning outcomes of the degree programme

• Recognize the different fields and dynamics of the biomedical company in which a graduate in Biomedical Sciences can practice.

• Identify the stages of the process of transferring basic knowledge to a product, technology or service, as well as the methods for entrepreneurship and innovation that facilitate the stages of knowledge transfer.

• Develop the organization and planning capacity appropriate to the moment.

• Develop the ability to solve problems.

• Develop the capacity for analysis and synthesis.

• Be able to carry out autonomous learning.

• Develop the organization and planning skills appropriate to the moment

• To be able to teamwork.


Learning outcomes of the subject

At the end of the course, the student:

• Learn about the value chain from the generation of new ideas in the biomedical research laboratory and development of clinical trials to the creation of a new medicine, technology or service that impacts patients.

• Knows the different types of biomedical companies, their business models, partner profiles, etc., and is able to relate existing companies to the aforementioned typology.

• Get to know the main actors in the Spanish and Catalan biomedical sector.

• Understand the importance of non-scientific elements in the development of new drugs or biomedical services: industrial and intellectual property, legal and regulatory aspects, financing strategies, non-scientific communication, industrial development (escalation and quality control).

• Know the main elements that determine the price of a biomedical service or product (introductory notions of “market access”).

• Learn about current trends in biomedicine: precision or personalized therapy, gene therapy, cell therapy, immuno-oncology.

• Learn about the different professional options (“job descriptions”) that the biomedical company offers to graduates and doctors in biomedicine.


Syllabus

• Basic definitions, what is a company, governance structures, basic management. Basic concepts in business biomedicine. The objective is for the student to become familiar with day-to-day concepts that will be used in subsequent classes. A "glossary" of basic terms will also be provided as an aid to the entire course.

 

• Drug / device development. The objective is that the student knows the calendars, risks and costs of the development of biomedical products and services, including regulatory, industrial and legal aspects, beyond demonstrating the efficacy and safety of a new treatment.

 

• Transmission of the concepts that define companies that use biomedicine as a central element of their existence: what is meant by a biotech, medtech, pharmaceutical, generic, biological company, etc.

 

• Case method, discussion using the websites of different companies defined in the previous section.

 

• Case method, the example of the discovery and development of penicillin will be used to introduce the four key viabilities that condition the success of a biomedical development: technical, industrial, regulatory and commercial viability, focusing on the importance of the existence of incentives associated with an unmet need, the most obvious symptom of which is the economic incentive.

 

• Monographic workshop to introduce the concept of patents (the importance of which will have been pointed out in the case of penicillin), in an open case format in which the different options that exist for the protection of industrial property will be discussed, including basic definitions of what is a patent.

 

• Evolution of the biomedical industry, from single model (2000) to diversified model (2019)

 

• Case method: based on commenting in class on recent news that confirms the evolution of the sector described in the previous point

 

• Description of the current technologies that are creating the most expectations for the health of the future (gene editing, CART, ehealth, oncoimmunology, precision medicine, cellular and curative therapy ...). The class will be used to work for the first time on the controversial topic of health and drug prices, as an introduction to pharmacoeconomics.

 

• Disruptive company case study: company and project of cell therapy and CART (Tygenix and CART project Fundació Carreras)

 

• Practical case of a business model for companies targeting orphan diseases: Mynorix

• Case study of disruptive spin-off, with healing potential through gene therapy of a minority disease (Friedrich's Ataxia): Biointax

 

• Case study of a world leader company in the processing of human plasma and the commercialization of blood products: Grifols

 

• Case study: discussion with the CEO of an oncology company with a product in clinical phases.

 

• Value of an R&D project: cost / benefit / profitability. Time value of money and expected value

 

• Practical project assessment exercise (in groups)

 

• Basic principles of financing biomedical companies with an emerging profile, basically the concept of generating and selling future expectations, its analogy with the financial and capital futures market, and the difference between a purely speculative market and the risk financing of the biomedical industry.

 

• Case study of financing vehicles: Asabys, a venture capital fund that operates in Barcelona financing biomedical companies with therapeutic orientation with a biotech, medtech or ehealth profile.

 

• Practical case of Contract Research Organization, or CRO, service company, in this case regulatory (Asphalion)

 

• Economic assessment of health interventions (pharmacoeconomics)

 

• Practical exercise of economic valuation of health

 

• Technology transfer models from biomedical research of academic origin

 

• Cases associated with the previous class: Bosch Gimpera Foundation, UPF Ventures, OTRI IGTP, Spherium case, depending on availability

 

• Case study startup in Ehealth

 

• Concept "stakeholder", or interest groups, which is essential to understand the economic levers of the biomedical industry.

 

• Practical class and open discussion using the websites of different companies to work on the stakeholder concept introduced in the previous class.

 

• general review of the main concepts of the subject and review of possible career opportunities in the industry


Teaching and learning activities

In person

Master classes: exposition during 2 sessions of 50 minutes of a theoretical topic by the teacher.

Practical classes and Case Methods (MC): Approach to a real or imaginary situation. Students interact directly with protagonists of the creation of biomedical companies in the Catalan and Spanish environment, or they work on the questions asked in small groups or in active interaction with the teacher and the answers are discussed. The teacher and the speakers intervene actively and, if necessary, contribute new knowledge.

Virtual education (EV): Online material that the student can consult from any computer, at any time and that will contribute to the self-learning of concepts related to the subject.


Evaluation systems and criteria

In person

Evaluation parameters on first call

20% class attendance

20% Attitude and participation

20% Partial exam

40% Final exam (on first call)

 

Evaluation parameters on second call

In the second call, the part of the note related to attendance, attitude and participation in class will be saved, so the note will consist of the following parameters:

20% Attendance to class (saved from the first call)

20% Attitude and participation (saved from the first call)

60% Final exam (on second call)

Attendance in class (both to master sessions and the case method):

Attendance ≥ 80% of sessions: Note = 10

Attendance <80% of sessions: Note proportional to the level of attendance

Attitude and participation in class and practical cases:

Subjective assessment by teachers and speakers, based on:

Predisposition to learning, positive and constructive attitude

Proactivity in the dynamics of discussion

Active participation in the questions asked by the teacher / speaker

Asking questions / doubts throughout the sessions

Respect for ideas expressed by classmates


Bibliography and resources

Science versus / and / or / but business: Chronicle of a visit to Businesslandia. Luis Ruiz Avila (2016). Ed. Entrecomes

Evaluation period

E: exam date | R: revision date | 1: first session | 2: second session:

  • E1 28/10/2019 16:00h A16
  • E1 10/01/2020 14:00h A12
  • E2 25/06/2020 16:00h
  © 2024 Universitat Internacional de Catalunya | Contact us | Privacy and data protection | Intellectual property
  Campus Barcelona. Tel.: 93 254 18 00 | Campus Sant Cugat. Tel.: 93 504 20 00